


There's A Fire In My Heart

by JemsFormUnderPressure



Series: Descendants Rambles [1]
Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Abandoned indefinitely, Anxiety Attacks, Drama & Romance, During Canon, Eventual Romance, F/M, Follows the movie, I've had this sitting around for years, Isle of the Lost (Disney), Maybe - Freeform, Romance, Slow Burn, Teen Romance, Teenage Drama, love potions, the Descendants 3 trailer spurred me to publish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-12
Updated: 2019-08-15
Packaged: 2020-01-12 00:49:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 18,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18435593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JemsFormUnderPressure/pseuds/JemsFormUnderPressure
Summary: Anya is Anstasia's daughter. Well, she was raised by Anastasia. Anyway, when the the villain's kids get sent to Auradon, Anya gets chosen too and she gets to see what life is really like in a place she always thought she'd belong. Along the way she finds out her hidden lineage and has the opportunity to act on certain feelings she was always too insecure to even acknowledge. But will she take the take the opportunity?





	1. In the Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> If I'm being honest, I'm not too thrilled or satisfied with this. And while I'd love to see this finished bye someone, I don't have the guts to give away a story I worked hard on. If anyone is interested in using something from this story such a plot, characters, etc. then please talk to me and I'll be happy to hash out the details.

“How is it possible that you’re going to be king next month? You’re just a baby!” King Beast said as he walked into the royal fitting room.

“He’s sixteen.” Belle reminded him.

“Ah, sixteens far too young to be crowned king! I didn’t make the decision until I was at least…42!” he exclaimed.

“Uh… you married me at 28,” Belle sassed with mock offence.

“Well, it was either you or a teapot. Kidding!” Beast defended himself.

“Mom, dad, I’ve chosen my first official proclamation. I’ve decided that the children of the Isle of the Lost… be given a chance… to live here in Auradon.” Prince Ben told them nervously. His father stared at him in disbelief and his mother dropped the coat she was holding. “Every time I look out to the island, I feel like they’ve been abandoned!” he defended himself.

“The children of our sworn enemies living among us?” His father growled.

“We’d start out with a few at first - some that need our help the most.” He stated.  _ And a not so well known one. _ “I’ve already chosen them,” Ben said with a grin.

“Have you?” his father questioned with distain clearly in his voice.

“I gave you a second chance,” Belle defended Ben to her husband. “Who are the parents?” Belle softly asked Ben.

“Cruella DeVil, Jafar, the Evil Queen… and Maleficent.” Ben started to reveal to his parents.

“Maleficent! She is the most evil in the land!” Beast exclaimed.

“Dad, just hear me out-”

“I won’t hear of it. Their parents are guilty of unspeakable crimes!” his father roared in anger.

“Their children are innocent! Don’t you think their children deserve a shot at a normal life? Dad…” Ben pleaded. Beast looked as if he was going to protest and Belle him a stern look.

“I suppose the children are innocent,” he agreed after a few seconds and started to walk away.

“Wait, there’s one more. The mother isn’t as well-known but I want to give it a shot,” Ben stopped his parents from leaving. Beast slowly turned back around to him and Belle gave him a questioning look.

“Who’s the mother?” Belle quizzed him with a soft sigh.

“Anastasia, Lady Tremaine’s daughter,” Ben said with determination.

“… Fine.” His father gave in.

“Hmm, well done.” Belle whispered to him as she fixed his blazer. “Shall we?” she said to her husband.


	2. Great Mothers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> From rags to riches I guess?

I watched quietly as Mal, Jay, Carlos and Evie danced, sang, stole and had fun being themselves.

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When they were finished Mal stole a lollipop from a baby and held it up triumphantly. Everyone cheered and then scrambled away from them and I looked to my right. Coming up to the kids was Maleficent herself. I shrunk into the shadows and watched the scene play out. Maleficent talked to Mal and the other three stood around waiting. Carlos looked at me and gave me a quick grin and I returned the gesture before lowering my gaze. I felt butterflies in my stomach and I bit my lip.

I’d never tell anyone but I had a small crush on Carlos - I’ve had feelings for him for a year or two… I didn’t go to school like the rest of the kids, instead my mom homeschooled me. The school did, however provide us the materials for homework and tests and stuff. I had top scores, beating even Carlos. He only met me by chance four years ago when he was running down the street. We eventually became friends, if you could actually call anyone a friend here.

“I have some news - you four have been chosen to go to a different school. In Auradon. Along with some other kid.” Maleficent revealed to them. I tried to smile bit I failed miserably. Auradon seemed so… perfect. I had always dreamed that I would be able to (at least) visit. Carlos, Evie and Jay all tried to run but were stopped by Maleficent’s henchmen. Mal held out her hand and gave her mother a surprised look.

“What?! I’m not going to some boarding school filled to the brim with  _ prissy pink princesses _ !” Mal spat out.

“And perfect princes!” Evie swooned and Mal gave her a glare so Evie added an ‘ugh’ to the end.

“Yeah, I don’t do ‘uniforms’.” Jay added with an incredulous expression. “Unless it’s leather, you feel me?” He said with a laugh and held his hand up for Carlos to high-five. Carlos ignored it and made his way to the front of the group.

“I read somewhere that they allow  _ dogs _ in Auradon? Mom said they’re rabid pack animals who eat boys who don’t behave…” Carlos interjected with a bit of fear. And fear not brought on by Maleficent.

“Woof!” Jay teased him and Carlos jumped and I forced a grin.

“Yeah, we’re not going!” Mal refused again.

“Ah! You think its small pumpkin? It’s all about world domination!” Maleficent declared with newfound energy. Maleficent turned to leave but Carlos spoke up again.

“Who’s the other kid?”

“Hmm? The other kid? Just some nobody. I think they said it was the child of Anastasia, Cindy’s step sister,” She replied and then walked away with her henchmen following her. I thought about what she said and realized - the other kid was me! My eyes widened and I tried to take deep breaths to calm me down as I slid down the wall.

“Hey, that’s you Anya!” Carlos chirped and then looked at me. It only took him a few seconds to realize what state I was in. “Anya!” he ran over to me and the rest followed.

“I-I-I-I can’t g-go. M-m-m-my mom!” I panicked.

“Hey, hey, hey! It’s alright, it’s going to be ok. You mother will be alright - she can take care of herself. Just breathe. Anya, it’s going to be alright, just breathe.” He reassured and walked me through in a hushed tone. I took some deep breaths with him and only a few minutes later was standing back up. I gave him a shaky smile and he placed a gentle hand on my arm. “Are you alright now?”

“Y-yeah. I think s-so.” I stuttered out.

“Carlos, who is she?” Mal questioned with narrowed eyes.

“Mal, Jay, and Evie-” He started to speak.

“Uh,  _ we _ already know who she is,” Jay interrupted him and motioned to Evie and him.

“Anyway, this is Anya. She’s my… acquaintance? She’s the other person going to Auradon with us. She’s adopted by Cinderella’s step sister and is homeschooled.” Carlos revealed to them.

“Carlos!” I whined.  _ He just told them everything… except a few… minor details. _

“Sorry?” He asked with a playful grin and then bit his bottom lip. My eyes immediately darted to his lips and I blushed. I forced myself to look away and at the others. Mal was wearing a smirk, Evie had an excited but understanding gaze and Jay was a mix between the two.

“I-I need to go. I have to tell mom and pack and, and… I have to go.” I rushed out. I literally ran to my home and threw open the door with tears in my eyes. “Mom!” I hollered throughout the house. She came running from the kitchen with a concerned look.

“What happened? Are you alright?” She doted on me.

“I am so lucky to have you as a mom!” I blurted out.

“Oh sweetie, what happened?” She asked again.

“Four other kids and I have been ch-chosen to go to A-Aurad-don P-Prep. I don’t want to leave you mom,” I explained and cried into her shoulder as she hugged me. Out of everyone on this forsaken island, my mom is by far the nicest, most caring person here.

“Hey, listen to me. Go to Auradon Prep, make some friends, have fun. I will miss you so much, but it will be an amazing experience. You’ll be fine, just be yourself,” she instructed and kissed my forehead. “Now, go pack.”

“Yes mom, I love you.” I whispered and pulled away from her. I ran to my room and got a red duffle bag out. I threw my clothes and other necessities in it and went downstairs where my mom was waiting patiently.

“Be a good girl,” She said.  _ How many villains tell that to their kids, huh? _

“I will, I love you. I’m going to find Carlos now!” I smiled.

“Can you please get a snack from the kitchen?” she asked with a grin.

“Yup.” I went to the kitchen and stopped dead in my tracks when I saw Carlos rummaging the cupboards. “CARLOS!” I shrieked and he dropped literally everything.

“Oh, uh, hi. Your mom said I could take what food I wanted for the trip.” He informed with a not-so-innocent grin.

“What are you doing here?” I hissed and glared at him. “You gave me a heart attack!”

“ _ I _ gave  _ you _ a heart attack. I’d say it was the other way around!” He accused with a laugh. “Anyway, I’m here because we’re getting picked up soon.” He finally answered my question. “You look nice by the way.” I looked down at what I was wearing and grinned while blushing.

“Thanks.” We walked out of the kitchen and said bye to my mom. As soon as we met up with the others a limo pulled up. I gaped in surprise and was nudged towards the man that was standing at the end of the vehicle. I gave him my bag and he set it in the trunk. I headed towards the door of the limo and looked to the place I called home. Carlos came running towards me, chased by his mother, with a smile. I slid into the limo and saw Evie already in there and we smiled at each other. Carlos rushed in soon after and sat next to me.

“Come sit over here, I want to talk to you!” Evie gestured to a seat next to her with a smile. I hesitantly looked to Carlos for permission. He laughed but nodded to give his ok. I gave a nervous smile and moved to the seat in between Jay and her. “So, you’re Anya, right? Sorry, I’m know we’ve talked before but I’m terrible with names!” she questioned for confirmation. I nodded nervously and she laughed.

“Sorry, Carlos is the only friend I’ve ever really had.” I said as Jay came in.

“Friend huh? If I remember correctly, Carlos said… acquaintance?” Jay teased. Both Carlos and I glared at him and he chuckled.

“That bring me to my next topic,” Evie whispered with a smile as Mal sat down with a huff.

“What’s up with you and Carlos, huh?” Mal bluntly asked me, too loud for my liking, with a suggestive wink. I bit my lip and blushed and I heard Carlos sigh.

“N-nothing. W-why would you even t-think that!” I stuttered out. Mal laughed, Evie giggled and Jay laughed as well. I barely managed to bring my eyes up to meet Carlos’ own sorry expression.

“Stop picking on her guys,” Carlos moaned. All of us looked at Carlos and then he and Jay spotted the candy. They struggled for it and Evie turned to Mal who was staring out the window.

“Here, you look a little washed up,” Evie noted as she started applying blush to Mal’s cheeks. Mal brushed her off with a frown and flipped her hair out of her face.

“Ew, stop, I’m plotting,” She said.

“Well, it’s not very attractive,” Evie informed her and bit a blue hard candy thing.

I grabbed some brown stuff that I saw Carlos grab and ate it.  _ Hmm… I like it. Sweet and a little salty with two different textures. This was actually pretty good. _ I looked out the window, towards Auradon, and notice that we were headed straight off of the broken bridge. I whimpered and Evie looked out the window.

“Look!” she exclaimed.

“It’s a trap!” Carlos yelled.

Everyone started screaming and crumpled in all together as I pulled my knees up and curled into a ball. A few seconds passed and I knew that we would’ve gone off by now. The screaming stopped and everyone went back to their respectable seats. I stayed curled up in my ball and blocked out their voices. A few minutes later I felt the seats shift and I pulled my legs in tighter.

“Hey, Anya?” Carlos asked softly. I very slowly lifted my head up and he smiled at me. “There we go. See, everything’s ok.” He moved a piece of hair that was in front of my eyes behind my ear. “Look guys!” Carlos said to everyone and pointed out the window.

A beautiful castle was coming up fast and I stared at it in awe. I uncurled myself from the tiny ball and I felt someone grasp my hand tightly. I looked over and saw Evie squeezing my hand. Ten minutes later the car pulled up to the castle and the door opened up for us. We all stumbled out, Carlos and Jay were first, fighting over something. I noticed a fairly large group of people.

“Guys, we have an audience!” I hissed at them. A woman in blue, a boy (who I must admit is attractive), and a girl walked up to us.

“Leave it like you found it,” the woman in blue sang. “And by that I mean just leave it.” Jay frowned and threw everything back in the limo. Jay started flirting with the other girl who looked unimpressed by him. “Welcome to Auradon Prep, I’m Fairy Godmother and Head Mistress,” the woman in blue introduced with a bow and a smile. I moved closer to Carlos and he unexpectedly held my hand.  _ He must be nervous too. _ I reassuringly squeezed his hand and smiled at him.

“The Fairy Godmother? As in bippity boppity boo?” Mal questioned.

“Bippity boppity you know it!” she replied with a smile. I glared at her and Carlos looked at me funny.

“You know, I’ve always wondered how it was like for Cinderella when you just…  _ appeared _ out of now where with that sparkly wand, warm smile and that  _ sparkly wand _ ,” Mal pressed on.  _ Why is she so focused on that stupid wand and that making conversation with that stupid fairy? _

“That was a long time ago. And as I say - Don’t focus on the past or you’ll miss the future!” FG responded with wild hand gestures. I snarled at her and Carlos, once again, squeezed my hand to calm me down.

“It’s so good to finally meet you all, I’m Ben.” He presented himself.

“ _ Prince _ Benjamin - soon to be king!” the girl interrupted. I don’t like her that much, she reeks of arrogance. Evie then started to walk up to him in a daze. I pulled her back and shook my head at her and she frowned at me.

“This is Audrey,” Ben introduced us to the annoying girl. I gritted my teeth and narrowed my eyes.

“ _ Princess _ Audrey and his girlfriend! Right Benny-boo?” She showed off and Ben nervously chuckled. The fairy chick said something about Ben and Audrey but I was too busy studying Audrey’s style, presentation, and attitude so I missed it. When the fairy was done speaking she quickly left and the band behind them all followed her in uniform.

“It is so, so, so good to finally meet you.” Ben was then punched in the shoulder by Jay. Ben moved over to Mal and the two seemed to pay more attention to each other than the handshake they shared. “This is a momentous occasion - and one that I hope will go down in history!” He shook Carlos’ hand but pulled back and licked his thumb. “Chocolate?” He then held his hand out to me to shake but I realized that I would have to let go of my friend’s hand. I clearly looked down at our intertwined fingers and his gaze followed mine. We then looked back up at each other and nodded with an unspoken greeting. “As the day our two peoples began to heal,” Ben finally continued.

“Or the day you showed five peoples where the bathrooms are,” Mal interjected lazily.

“A little bit over the top?” Ben guessed.

“More than a little bit,” Mal corrected with a nod and a grin. Ben laughed and stepped back next to Audrey.

“Well so much for my first impression,” Ben laughed and Mal joined in.

“Hey! You’re Maleficent’s daughter aren’t you? Yeah, you know what? I totally don’t blame you for your mother trying to kill my parents and stuff,” Audrey announced in an all too cheery tone. “Oh, my mom’s Aurora,” she added.

“Sleeping Beauty! Yeah, I’ve heard the name. You know what, and I totally don’t blame your grandparents for inviting everyone in the whole world except my mother to their stupid christening.” Mal told her, even though it was clearly them just trying to be civil to each other.

“Water under the bridge,” Audrey added.

“Totes!” Mal ‘agreed’. They shared and awkward laugh and they both sighed at the end.

“Ok! How about a tour? Auradon Prep originally built a hundred years ago and converted into a school by my father when he became king,” Ben informed us proudly. We walked towards a statue of his father and we all stared at it. Ben clapped twice and the statue started transforming into a beast. Carlos made a noise and tried to jump into Jay’s arms. The only problem - our hands were still intertwined. I yanked my hand away and Jay raised an eyebrow at me. Ben looked at Carlos and smiled. “Carlos, its ok, my father wanted his statue to morph from beast to man to remind us that anything is possible,” he explained.

“Does he shed much?” Mal joked lightly.

“Yeah, mom won’t let him on the couch,” Ben joked right back and I quietly laughed. Jay rolled his eyes and set Carlos down. I waited as he warily stared at the statue and clapped twice like Ben did. Nothing.

“Come on!” I took his hand and pulled him along with everyone else.

“…So you guys have a lot of magical stuff here at Auradon? Like wands and things like that?” Mal questioned him as we walked into the castle.

“Yeah, it exists, of course, but most of it’s retired. Most of us here are just ordinary mortals,” Ben explained.

“Who  _ happen _ to be kings and queens,” Mal inputted.

“That’s true! Our royal blood goes back hundreds of years,” Audrey boasted and wrapped Ben’s arm around her. I rolled my eyes at her and she gave me a stuck up smirk.

“Doug! Doug, come down.” Ben walked over to a boy in the band uniform. “This is Doug, he’s going to help you with your class schedules and show you to your dorms. I’ll see you later, if there is anything you need feel free to-”

“Ask Doug,” Audrey interrupted Ben again. She hated us so much. Audrey then pulled Ben away and Doug started speaking.

“Hi guys, I’m Dopey’s son. As in Dopey, Doc, Bashful, Happy, Grumpy, Sleepy…. Hi ho…” Doug froze up slightly when he saw Evie and I smiled.

“Evie, Evil Queen’s daughter,” Evie introduced herself.

“Uh, ok, about you classes. So you know your requirements already - history with the pirates, rules for internet safety, and remedial goodness 101,” Doug informed us happily.

“Let me guess - new class?” Mal said as she popped a caramel candy in her mouth while she read off Doug’s shoulder.

“Yeah,” he replied sheepishly.

“Come on guys, let’s go find our dorms!” Mal ran up a few steps and we all followed her.

“Oh, ah yeah! Your dorms are that way guys,” Doug pointed to the stairs on the other side of the room and I sighed. They all turned to go down the stairs but I got distracted by a fire place in the middle of the room. Carlos dragged me down the stairs and we heard Doug going over the names of the dwarves again.

“Dopey, Doc, Bashful, Happy, Grumpy, Sleepy-”

“Sneezy,” Carlos and I butted in at the same time. I blushed slightly and tried to shake off the feeling I always got whenever we did something so accidentally in sync. When we got to Mal, Evie and my room, the boys went to their own.


	3. Crushing Carlos

“Hey, um… W-would you guys mind if I hung out with t-the boys?” I asked them after a while and stared at the carpet.

“Go ahead, you don’t need our permission.” Mal shrugged.

“Besides, you and Carlos seem pretty inseparable,” Evie added with a twinkle in her eye. I blushed again and quickly left to the dude’s dorm. I knocked on the door and both the boy yelled ‘come in’ so I cautiously opened the door. I looked around and noticed that I much rather preferred their room to my own. I shut the door and sat on the only free bed.

“Hey Anya.” Jay mumbled as he looked through his stuff.

“Anya? Oh hey, Anya!” Carlos stopped what he was doing and smiled at me. I felt the butterflies in my stomach and grinned back.

“Hi guys.”

“So, I wanted to talk to you about earlier…” Carlos started and I got extremely nervous. I walked over to him and we sat down on the floor. “I noticed that you were a bit pink and that your body temperature rose - like when Audrey spoke.” I gave him a weird look because I had no idea why that last one would happen. “Are you feeling ok?” he asked.

“Ugh, stop. I’m fine, I swear. I don’t know what that was about but I promise that it won’t happen again.” I groaned and Jay looked over to me. “By the way, I know about the wand situation. I got Evie and Mal to spill,” I told them.

Later that night Mal and Evie came over and just strutted right on in without a single knock. They examined the room and smiled at the setup. Mal quickly made her way over to Jay and observed that he had a pile of stuff on his bed.

“Hey. What are you doing?” She quizzed.

“It’s called stealing.”

“Ok, well what’s the point?”

Well, Mal, it’s like buying whatever I want - except it’s free.” Jay explained and flipped open a computer. I laughed at this exchange - like actually laughed - and got more than one surprised or questioning look.

“Or you could just leave everything here and pick it up when we take over the world,” Mal scolded.

“You sound just like you mom!” Evie cooed.

“Thank you!”

“Ok, well, you do what you want, I’ll do what I want.” Jay said as he walked away.

“Haha, die suckers! Jay come check this thing out, it’s awesome!” Carlos exclaimed and handed him two bar things. Jay took them and started playing the game.

“Guys! Do I have to remind you what we’re all here for?” Mal stressed in annoyance.

“Fairy Godmother. Magic wand.” Jay replied with a smirk and Evie laughed.

“This is our  _ one chance _ to prove ourselves to our parents!” Mal sighed out in anger. Everyone became very quiet and stopped doing whatever they were doing. “To prove that we are evil and vicious and ruthless and cruel. Yeah?” She snapped at us. I flinched at her tone but knew it was necessary.

“Yeah,” Carlos whispered.

“Evie. Mirror me.” We all huddled around the table.

“Mirror, mirror on the - in my hand, where is Fairy godmother’s wand… stand?” Evie spoke to the small mirror she was holding. It showed us the wand surrounded by a strange blue light.

“Zoom out.”

“Magic mirror, not so close.” It then showed us the world and I sighed. “Closer… closer… closer!”

“Can I go back to my game, I’m on level three?” Carlos asked them.

“Stop!” Jay burst out. I jumped and Carlos gave me a look that asked if I was alright and I nodded.

“It’s in a museum. Do you know where it is?” Mal questioned excitedly.

“2 ½ miles from here,” Carlos responded after typing a few things in the computer. Mal, Evie and Jay all exchanged smiles and Mal crept to the door. After a few seconds she ushered us out with her.

~Time Skip~

I was exhausted! We just ran all over the museum and set off an alarm. I stayed with Carlos the whole time (shocker there) and he was always the last in line. I took a deep breath and hugged one of Carlos’ arms. He had been holding my hand so I didn’t fall behind and now I just clung to it like a life line. I closed my eyes and breathed in his scent. Darkness quickly took over and I was happy.

~Carlos’ P.O.V. ~

Anya rested her head on my shoulder and closed her eyes. I softly smiled at her and subconsciously played with her hair.  _ She is so innocent. She really does deserve better than us as friends… if you can call us that. _

“Carlos, stop babying Anya and let’s get out of here!” Mal snapped at me. I sighed and rolled my eyes but walked behind my friends. Anya walked as well but I couldn’t tell if she was naturally sleep walking or what. Evie looked back at us and sent me a soft smile. When we got back to the dorms I couldn’t separate Anya from my arm.

“Uh… Guys? I think I’m just gonna take Anya back to our dorm…” I told them and bit my lip.

“Ok, don’t hurt her,” Evie warned and I shook my head. Jay and I walked to our dorm and I realized that I couldn’t change out of my clothes. I smiled softly at the troublesome girl and laid down with her. This wasn’t the first time that this has happened - this was actually sort of common for us. As soon as I got settled in Anya cuddled closer to me and relaxed. I place a protective arm around her and smiled as I drifted off to sleep.

I woke up to a soft knock on the door and then it opened.

“Hey,” Evie whispered. “I just brought Anya some clothes.”

“Thanks,” I muttered.

“Oh, and, if you hurt her in any way, I  _ will _ do the same to you in tenfold.” She threatened me as she left.

_ How could I every hurt Anya? She’s too good for me to even think about hurting her. She’s, dare I say it… my best friend. She’s the only one on the Isle that was actually nice to people. Well, her along with her mom. I don’t know anyone who would try to hurt her… _

I felt Anya move a little and my eyes darted to her tiny frame. A look of turmoil settled on her face while kicking her feet and trying to hit something with her hands. I sighed with sadness and kissed the top of her head as I pulled her closer to me. I drifted off to sleep again and hoped that she would be alright.


	4. Chapter 4

I saw a tall man in dark robes coming closer to me. I shook in fear as he came right up to my face. I knew the fear wasn’t directed at him but he still sent a chill throughout my body. Tears streamed down my face and he used two boney fingers to lift my face to meet his. His fiery blue hair glowed in the darkness that surrounded us. My own hair was red flames, similar to his. He pulled me into a hug and I was engulfed in warmth.

Then I was falling. I was falling into a dark - but not quite black - abyss. Three pairs of glowing red and gold eyes glared at me and I screamed in fear. The eyes advanced on me and I could make out three large dog heads snarling at me. I froze where I was and all the heads lunged towards me. I tried to run but one of their jaws closed in on me.

A red glow surrounded me and I slowly, cautiously, opened my eyes. I was in a ditch with four or five other… things. There was an ice giant, a giant made of lava, one of rocks, and one other one. I looked up and saw multiple lightning bolts keeping us in. My hair was flaming red again and I moved my hand through it. Cold. Strange…

My eyes snapped open and I noticed that I was breathing heavily.  _ Ugh, not again! Why are they getting more  _ frequent _? I hope I didn’t wake anyone up... _ I then realized that I was staring at red, black and white. Carlos’ shirt. I fell asleep on him. My eyes widened in shock and I carefully untangled myself from him and my eyes noticed a pile of clothes on the round table in the center of the room. I gathered the clothes up and went into the bathroom that was connected to their dorm. I closed the door behind me and changed into the clothes. Once I looked into the mirror, I realized that Evie must have picked the clothes out I was [ wearing](http://www.polyvore.com/daughter_hades_casual_outfit_cabin/set?id=125813854) .

I rushed out of the dorm room and made my way to my own. When I got in the room both Mal and Evie were already up. They both gave me smug smirks and I glanced between the two girls nervously. I made my way to my bed and sat down. Evie and mal followed me and continued to stare at me.

“…W-what…?” I cautiously asked them both. Evie then took out the magic mirror and I gave her a quizzical look.

“Mirror, mirror, who does Anya have feelings for?” Evie spoke to it with a smirk in my direction.

“NO!” I yelled and lunged for the mirror.

“Uh, uh, uh.” Evie scolded and Mal pulled me back onto the bed. “Hmm, would you look at this?” Evie chirped.

“Please don’t,” I pleaded softly.

“Don’t worry, I won’t show it to the boys.” She reassured me and I relaxed slightly. “But seriously Mal - look.” Evie shoved the mirror into Mal’s hands and Mal barely glanced at it before she stifled a laugh.

“Shush.” I pouted.

“CARLOS!! You like Carlos? Oh my Zeus!” Mal exclaimed with a laugh.

“Shut up!” I snapped at her angrily and they both stopped and stared at me in - fear? “What?”

“Nothing!” Mal clearly lied. I sighed and just decided to let it go.


	5. Tourney

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys and girl have aggressiveness the need to unleash?

“If someone hands you a crying baby do you: a) curse it, b) lock it in a tower, c) give it a bottle, or d) carve out its heart?” the stupid fairy asked us as if we were toddlers. I sighed and rolled my eyes. _ It’s obviously c. Gods we aren’t complete idiots. _ Evie raised her hand and the fairy called on her.

“What was the second one?” I groaned softly and rested my head in my hands.

“Oh alright, anyone else? Mal?”

“C, give it a bottle,” she responded with extreme boredom.

“Correct, again!” Fairy Godmother beamed at her.

“You are on fire, girl!” Carlos complimented Mal.

“Just pick the one that doesn’t sound like any fun,” Mal told us as if we were idiots.

“Oh!”

“That makes sense…”

A girl in a blue dress walked by us and squeaked in fear. I rolled my eyes but watched as she went up to the fairy. I looked at the papers in front of Mal and saw a very accurate drawing of the wand. _ Oh my Zeus, she is an amazing artist! _ A minute or two later the girl - Jane I think - walked back down the aisle in between the tables with another squeak.

“You find a vial of poison. Do you a) put it in the king’s wine, b) paint it on an apple, or c) turn it over to the proper authorities?” Everyone else shoved their hand into the air and Jay even went as far as pushing Carlos’ arm down. The answer was obvious and I really didn’t want to be called on so I just kept my hand down.

“Jay,” the fairy called.

“C, turn it over to the proper authorities,” he replied confidently and smugly.

“I was going to say that,” Carlos pouted and I grinned.

“Well I said it first,” Jay rubbed it in his face. Jay got Carlos into a headlock and pulled him up on the table. I could feel my temper rising and I walked over to them. I grabbed Jay’s arm and he immediately loosened his grip on Carlos. He let go of him after a few seconds of staring at me. I let out and angry sigh and turned around to go back to my seat. I noticed then that everyone was staring at me.

“What?” I stuttered out. They all just shook their heads and I shrugged and sat back down in my seat.

“Boys, I am going to encourage you to use that energy on the Tourney field.” The fairy spoke to them with a fake smile.

“Oh, no, that’s ok… whatever that is, we’ll pass,” Carlos responded with a smile as they slowly got off the table. I rolled my eyes at their childish behavior but found myself smiling regardless.

~Time Skip~

Carlos and Jay were on the Tourney with a bunch of other guys while I was sitting on the benches watching them. The coach blew his whistle and I flinched at its loudness. The coach gave some instructions but I only found myself staring at a clueless Carlos.

“Hey, hey, hey! Hey you, Cruella’s kid! Get out of the kill zone! Come on!” He shouted at Carlos and I immediately felt bad for him.

He was just confused… I watched as Carlos stumbled his way to his respective side and allowed myself a small smile of amusement. Then the tryouts started. I tried to keep up with what was happening but I just made myself confused. I watched as Jay knocked people down and rammed into the other players and laughed quietly when Carlos got scared and curled into a ball with his shield thingy on top of him. The coach blew his whistle again and I gritted my teeth.

“You! Get over here!” He yelled at Jay who obliged in a somewhat sheepish manner. “What do you call that?” He demanded. Jay didn’t respond. “I call that raw talent, come find me later, I’ll show you something you haven’t seen before - it’s called a rule book! Welcome to the team, son.” He laughed and smiled at Jay then turned to Carlos. “You ever thought about  _ band _ ?” He asked in an annoyed tone. I knew it was supposed to be a bit funny but I growled and almost stood up.

“Ha. Ha.” Carlos said sarcastically and Jay actually did laugh which made me climb down from the top of the bleachers.

“I’ll work with him coach,” Ben reassured and he smiled.

“Alright…” He blew his whistle again and I sat down where I was. After a few more rounds of the game everyone took their gear off and went their separate ways. I was about to leave when I saw Jay and Carlos come up to me.

“Hey guys!” I grinned.

“Were you here the whole time?” Carlos questioned me. My smile faltered but I nodded as a response.

“I had nothing better to do,” I shrugged. I started to walk past them and they followed after me.

~Time Skip~

“Ok, Carlos, we’re going to do some sprints. Ready?” Ben instructed next to me. I saw a tan dog running behind Carlos and I groaned as it barked.

“Oh no.” Carlos looked back and started full on running.

“Ah, no, no! Wait, no, ah!” Carlos screamed as he ran passed us and I ran after him with Ben behind me. We followed Carlos all the way into the woods until he climbed up a tree.

“Carlos!” I whined as I started to stop and catch my breath.

“Carols!” Ben exclaimed.

“Ben? Ben! This thing is a killer! It’s gonna chase me down and rip out my throat. This is a vicious, rabid, pack animal!” Carlos explained in terror.

“Hey, who told you that?” Ben questioned.

“His mother.” “My mother.”

“Cruella?” Ben double checked as he looked between the two of us.

“She’s a dog expert.” Carols said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world and Ben laughed. “Why are you holding him, he’s gonna attack you!”

“Carols, you’ve never actually met a dog, have you?” Ben asked him and we both looked at him.

“No, of course not.” Carlos replied.

“Dude, meet Carlos and Anya. Carlos, Anya, meet Dude, the campus pup.” Ben said with a smile.

“… He doesn’t look like a vicious, rabid pack animal…” Carlos mused slowly as he just as slowly came down from the tree. “Geez…” Ben handed Dude over to Carlos and I smiled with tears of joy in my eyes. “You’re a good boy,” he whispered to Dude I laughed at the exchange.

“Guess you guys got it pretty rough on the island,” Ben noted and that sucked the tears right out of my eyes.

“Yeah…” Carlos confirmed with a sad look in his eyes. “Let’s just say we don’t get a lot of belly rubs.”

“Good boy. I-I mean you’re a good runner - you’re fast,” Ben rushed to correct himself and I hid a laugh.

“Yeah. Thank you.”

“Listen I’m going to give you guys some space. You two can get to know each other and just - come find me when you’re done. Bye.” Ben jogged off and I stood there a bit awkwardly.

“Do… would you mind if I stayed?” I asked him hopefully.

“Oh, no, please!” Carlos said with a grin and pet Dude. We sat down on a nearby log and pet Dude happily.


	6. Chapter 6

I was sitting next to Carlos on the floor in my dorm room when Jay swung open the door. Carlos and I examined the new jersey he was wearing and Carlos wolf whistled. I bit my lip and stared at the page in my book.  
“Did the plan work with Jane? Are we gonna see the wand?” Jay asked Mal.  
“Do you think I would be going through every spell in this book if I hadn’t completely struck out?” Mal snapped at him.  
“Oo, bad news,” Jay muttered.  
“My mom’s counting on me - I can’t let her down!” Mal exclaimed and flicked Carlos’ head.  
“We can do this… if we stick together.” Jay said slowly with a dejected sigh. What’s gotten into him, it’s always been ‘there’s no team in I’ and now suddenly he’s trying to convince us to stick together!? Wow, this school has infected him with something.  
“And we won’t go back until we do. ‘Cause we’re rotten,” Mal said.  
“To the core,” everyone else finished the line.  
“Oh yeah, I found out that Fairy Godmother uses her wand at coronation and we all get to go,” Evie informed us. “Of course I have nothing to wear.” She sighed and rolled her eyes. Then there was a knock at the door. “What?”  
“Hold that thought.” Mal lazily got off her bed and went to the door. When she opened it we all saw Ben standing there.  
“H-hey Mal. I didn’t see you guys today and was wondering if you had any questions or… anything… you needed?” he announced with a bit of a stutter.  
“Oh! Um, is it true that we all get to go to your coronation?” Mal quizzed him.  
“Yeah, the whole school goes,” he replied.  
“Wow. That is beyond exciting. Do you think it’s a possibility that the five of us could stand next to the Fairy Godmother just so we could soak up all that goodness?” Mal questioned him.  
“I wish you could. Up front it’s only me, my folks, and my girlfriend.” Ben replied in an apologizing tone.  
“…And your girlfriend?” Mal repeated.  
“Yeah, I’m sorry.”  
“…Ok, thanks bye!” Mal chirped and Ben started to say something.  
“Oh, wait!” I blurted out. There’s something I’ve been thinking about. I jumped up and before Mal could close the door I walked out of the room and looked at Ben as the door slammed behind me.  
“You wanted to ask me something?” Ben asked with surprise that was poorly hidden.  
“Uh, yeah. It’s a bit… um, it’s a bit personal. Um, I-I just wanted to know i-if there was any way to find out who my biological…” I trailed off when I realized that I must sound really stupid to him.  
“Parents?” I nodded. “You want to find out who your real parents are?” Ben asked me in shock.  
“Um… yeah… I’m sorry I shouldn’t have even asked-”  
“No it’s fine. I just wasn’t expecting that. You’re adopted?” He questioned and I nodded quietly.  
“Yeah, I have a great mom - especially for living on the Isle of the Lost. She loves me… but every time I get mad people look at me weird and I want to know if it’s just not like me to be so openly mad or if something in me is changing me. It sounds stupid, I know it does, but-” For a second time Ben cut me off.  
“It doesn’t sound stupid at all. Come on, I’ll see what I can do.”  
~The Next Day~  
I sat through the tourney game, completely clueless as to what was going on, in boredom. All I knew was that both Jay and Carlos were playing and that was good enough for me. The whole game I kept my eyes on Carlos. I was hoped that he’d do well and I think he did… The guy was doing the announcements when Ben cut him off by taking the microphone.  
“Excuse me! Excuse me!” What the hell is he doing? “Excuse me guys can I have your attention please?” He then got up on a stand thing and stared at us for a few seconds. “There’s something I’d like to say… Give me an M!” I smiled and but didn’t do the movement.  
“M!” I shouted with the rest of the crowd in confusion.  
“Give me an A!”  
“A!”  
“Give me an L!”  
“L!” Oh my Hercules, he just spelled out Mal! What has gotten into him?  
“What’s that spell?”  
“Mal!” Evie, Lonnie and I yelled at Mal.  
“I can’t hear you!”  
“Mal!”  
“I love you Mal, did I mention that?” WHAT?!?! When did this happen?! “Give me a beat!”  
“Uno, dos, tres, cuatro!” Then the band started playing. Ooh, spanish!  
“What was in that cookie?” Mal exclaimed. I could tell she was faking though I got suspicious. Evie laughed and smiled brightly at Mal. I’d have to ask her about it later.

R  
I  
D  
I  
C  
U  
L  
O  
U  
S

“I love you Mal, did I mention that?” Ben breathed out.  
“Chad’s my boyfriend now! And I’m going to coronation with him.” Audrey announced and kisses Chad.  
“Mal, what do you say - will you go to coronation with me?” Ben asked her with a huge grin. I looked over at Evie and saw that she looked really sad. I hugged her as Mal replied with a yes. After a minute or two Mal looked at Evie and her gaze softened.  
“I feel really sorry for Audrey,” she sighed out.  
“You do?” Evie asked her.  
“Yeah. I feel like if she was talented like you and she could sew and knew beauty tip that she would feel better about herself,” Mal responded. Evie smiled and let out an airy laugh.  
“I guess I am pretty talented.” Evie accepted the compliment.  
“You are definitely good.”  
“Thanks,” Evie looked at us both and we gave her sad smiles.


	7. Chapter 7

I was looking for Ben when I accidentally ran into him while turning a corner.

“I was just looking for you!” he chirped.

“Me too,” I told him.

“Once we got your DNA and sent it over to the lab it had to process but it just finished around an hour ago,” Ben informed me. My eyes widened and I felt hot tears pricking at my eyes. Ben looked alarmed for a few seconds and I nearly hugged him. He noticed and pulled me in. “Are you ok?”

I nodded as I pulled away from him and gave him a small smile. “Thank you so much! I can-” I cleared my throat, looked away, and took a step back.

“…Anya, are you ok?” Ben asked me.

“Y-yeah it’s just… I never thought I’d want this, but now that I have it… I feel like… like everything’s gonna change.” I admitted to him.

“Here, read it, ok?” He handed me the papers blank side up and I took a deep breath. “It’ll be fine Anya.” Ben reassured me. I nodded hesitantly and bit my lip. I quickly flipped the papers over. Like a magnet, my eyes found the names of my parents. Well, parent.

“Did you look at this?” I demanded from him in absolute shock.

“No. I wanted you to be the first to know.” He answered politely. “Anya, is everything ok?” I shoved the papers in his face and he quickly scanned them. “Oh dear…”

“I have a  _ God _ as my father! I-I know-” I shook my head as I tried to clear my thoughts.

“Anya, that’s not too bad?”

“No it isn’t… I-I-I need to find C-Carlos,” I stuttered out and rushed in the direction of his dorm. When I got to his door I did three sharp, loud knocks and the door swung open. In front of me stood a confused Carlos.

“What’re you - are you ok?” Carlos frowned and put an arm around me as he shut the door and led me over to the couch. “What’s the matter? What’s wrong? Anya?” With a shaky hand I gave him the papers. He read the paper as quickly as an educated 40-year-old would read a children’s book. “I-I don’t understand? I thought you were fine with not knowing who your parents were? You always said that since you had the best mom on the Isle that you were fine about not knowing,” Carlos reminded me.

“I know but… being here… all the weird looks I get when I’m mad… my general curiosity.” I sighed out and wiped my eyes.

“Your hair turns into fire when you get angry.” Carlos deadpanned. “How can you not know that?” he questioned dubiously with a gentle grin.

“I can’t feel it!” I replied honestly. “Wait a minute… my dreams… you remember the dreams I have?” I reminded him.

“You had nightmares about your father.” Carlos put two and two together. The door was then pushed open and I saw Jay swagger in as usual.

“Hey guys what’s-… up? Anya, you fine?” Jay questioned me.

“Yeah, I just received some rather… shocking… news,” I replied with a small smile. “It’s weird.” I told Carlos and he laughed. “I mean - oh God. I’m Mal’s half-sister” All three of us froze.

Jay was the first to break. “That’s insane.”

“Are you ok now, do you need anything?” Carlos asked my worriedly.

“I… I think I’m fine.” I yawned and laid down, placing my head in his lap with a blush and closed my eyes. I felt Carlos place his hand on my head and stroked my hair. Jay chuckled and Carlos sighed. A few minutes later I bolted straight up when I remembered two very important things.

“I have to talk to Mal!” I exclaimed and ran out of the room. “Mal?” I called as I ran into our dorm room and saw her looking extremely flustered. “…What?”

“Ben just asked me out!” she panicked.

“I was just talking to him not even 30 minutes ago! That guys quick on his feet! Sorry - I… I need to ask you a question.” I announced, trying to refocus my attention. My statement can wait.

“What could you possibly have to ask me that’s more important than  _ my _ problem!?” she snapped at me.

“I-I just wanted to know what was in that cookie,” I shrugged and Mal huffed in annoyance.

“A love potion.” She sighed out.

“Ah! That would explain a lot…” I mumbled.

“Anyway, I have to go get Evie and tell her.” Mal sighed. Mal left me alone and I sat down on my bed, waiting for them to return. Ten to twenty minutes later Evie and Mal walked into the room. Evie was giving her tips for makeup and Mal was listening intently. Mal definitely likes Ben, even if she can’t see it herself. When Evie saw me she stopped and gave me a nervous smile.

“Oh, uh, hi Anya. We were just-” Evie tried to come up with an excuse.

“It’s okay, I know. Do you want me to leave?”

“Oh! Uh…?”

I nodded at the awkward mood that had settled in. “I’ll wait outside.” Twenty minutes later, I noticed Ben turn the corner and head towards our room. I smiled to him and gave him a quick nod before slipping into the room again. “Ben’s coming, chop chop. And Mal? You look stunning.” There was a knock on the door immediately after. Mal gave me a tight smile and I felt myself shrink just lightly as she opened the door for Ben.

“For the first time I understand the difference between pretty and beautiful,” Ben said and Mal let out a short laugh. I bit my lip, trying not to squeal. “I hope you like bikes.” Mal walked out of the room and closed the door behind her as I flopped onto my bed.

“You did amazing! Good job Evie.”

“Thank you. So. I noticed you had something to tell Mal. Spill. What was it?” Evie asked me with increasing excitement as she sat down next to me. I slowly nodded, not really eager to let more people know, and reached over to grab the papers again.

“... I found out who my dad is.” I pointed to his name for her and she gasped.

“Anya, this is huge.”

~The Next Day~

“Children, excuse me, as you know, this Sunday is Family Day here at Auradon Prep and because your parents couldn’t be here due to, uh… distance, we’ve arranged for a special treat.” Fairy Godmother smiled brightly at us and walked to the front of the room. We all cautiously followed her to the front of the room where she turned on the T.V.

“…I don’t see anything… nor do I hear…” Maleficent spoke and bumped their screen as she backed up. “Can I  _ please _ see the remote?!” She snapped and Evil Queen.

I looked more carefully at who was there and noticed that my mom wasn’t with them. I sighed and sat down at the nearest table.

_ Why wasn’t she there? Was she busy doing something? Did she have something more important to do? Something more important than her daughter? _

_ Now Anya, she probably doesn’t like the other people - it might just be nothing. _

_ But would she pass up the chance to talk to me - or even just see me - because she doesn’t like the other parents? Maybe she’s off with that baker again… or maybe she just forgot. Forgot about her own daughter, what kind of mother is she? Not my mother  - my mother’s a Goddess. Or maybe I don’t have a mother, maybe it’s another God. But either way - why did she never tell me who my parents were? Did she not know? If she didn’t know then why not? Did my parents abandon me? Could neither of them not make the necessary sacrifices to raise their own child? My god, all three of my parents are terrible! _

A throat cleared and I looked up to see everyone staring at me.

“What?” I snapped.

“You’re mad.” Carlos stated.

“No, really? I couldn’t tell,” I replied sarcastically and Mal raised an eyebrow. My eyes widened and I looked away, clearing my throat. “Sorry.”

“Um… your hair,” Carlos muttered the reminder.

“Ah crap!” I hissed and ran a hand through my red hair that was probably fire. Mal turned to leave with a roll of her eyes, then Evie, followed by Jay and then Carlos who pulled me along by the hand. “Wait. Carlos. I want to talk to FG. I’ll catch up with you.”

Carlos studied my face and hesitantly let go of my hand. “Ok. I-I’ll wait in my room.”

“Anya? What are you still doing here?” Fairy Godmother asked me when I walked back over to her.

“Um… I just…” I bit my lip. “Why wasn’t my mom there?” I felt tears start to form and I mentally cursed.

“Oh sweetie… when we contacted her, your mother said that she wasn’t, er, allowed to be with the others. She does miss you Anya, never think otherwise.” She explained softly. FG smoothed my hair down and a stray tear fell down my face.

“I just – you rescued Cindy, and mom was sent to the Isle, and then she took me in, but now it feels like she won’t suck up her pride and talk to me. And it feels horrible, and I wonder if it’s me, and I don’t know what to do. I just want to see her again.” By the end of my rant I was sobbing and FG was doing her best to comfort me.

“Oh honey. She loves you, ok? Never doubt that. It isn’t you.  _ You _ are  _ good _ enough. Listen to me,” she cupped my face, “your mother loves you. Anastasia loves you. You hear me?” I gave her a small nod and she smiled. “Good. If you ever need to talk – ever – I will be available. And if you don’t want to talk to me, I can get ahold of someone else. Just ask and you will receive.”

“… Could I visit her? And my cousin?” I whimpered out. FG wiped away my remaining tears and grinned.

“How about, next week, we get you a trip back to the Isle. I can come with you if you’d like. Or we could ask someone else.” She offered and I nodded.

“Thank you. I… I now know what Cinderella sees.”


	8. I See Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Punch

“This is what the wand looks like. It’ll be up here, on the dais, under the Beast’s spell jar. And coming up from here, I’ll be in the very front. You will all be up in the balcony. Carlos?” Mal described the plan to us.

“Ok, so I’ll find our limo and break the barrier so we can get the wand,” Carlos informed us all.

“Perfect, Evie you need to spray the driver with this - two sprays and he will be out like a light.” Mal instructed her.

“Ok,” Evie nodded. We all became quiet and started to disperse when something caught mine and Evie’s attention. “M?”

“You wanna break Ben’s love spell?” I questioned her in shock.

“Yeah. You know for after…” Mal told us. “I’ve just been thinking, you know, when the villains finally do invade Auradon and begin to loot and kick everyone out of their castles and imprison their leaders and destroy all that is good and beautiful, Ben still being in love with me just seem extra… cruel,” She replied truthfully. Mal shut her spell book and left the room.

That night as we all laid in bed, I got the papers that told me who my dad was. I stared at his name, thinking about how mad I was at first. I thought about running to Carlos and how safe I felt. I also thought of my nightmares - how I was locked up with the titans and the dog getting aggressive… and also how my father comforted me when I was scared. I remembered my flaming red hair and his flaming blue hair. I thought of my mother and how I had been so mad at her when she wasn’t there for the video chat. And I remembered my breakdown in front of Fairy Godmother. I let a few silent tears roll down my face and sat the papers back down. As I fell asleep Evie turned on her lamp.

~Time Skip~

Then next day we all met up and walked around outside as the other students were singing a stupid remix thing of Be Our Guest. I did  _ not _ like the song. I could feel my annoyance level increasing and I guessed that my hair was flaming up based on the looks that I was getting from Carlos and Jay. We worked our way to a table with a chocolate fountain, strawberries and other stuff. Mal grabbed a strawberry and ate the whole thing in one bite. Carols and Jay pushed at each other for the chocolate. I stood by Evie who was holding Dude and was talking to Mal.

“Mal!” Ben called her over they talked for a little bit and Mal was introduced to his parents. At one point Mal pointed behind her and then turned her head to look at us. We all smiled and waved at them and she turned back.

“By the way, your hair is still flaming.” Evie whispered to me and I frowned.

“Still? But I’m not mad at anything right now?” I pouted.

Evie laughed slightly at my expression. “Well just the tips.”

I tried to look down to my where my hair ended and managed to catch a glimpse of red fire. “Ok, I guess this is my norm now…” I sighed with a small shrug. “Carols, pass me a raspberry?”

“Here,” he said and placed a couple in my outstretched hand. “Your hair.”

“I know. Do you like it?” I asked, only a little bit nervous (shut up conscious).

**~Tiny Time Skip~**

We were soon invited to eat lunch with King Beast and Queen Belle and, well, I was anxious to say the least. Mal was currently standing alone, just a few feet away from me, Jay was playing crochet with Ben, Carlos was playing with Dude, and Evie was swapping beauty tips with Queen Belle. I, on the other hand, was standing on the pavement. I quickly realised that my hair would randomly flame up, if I stepped on the grass it would burn, if I touched anything flammable it would burn. The only flammable things I’ve been able to safely touch are clothes. For the most part. So, just to be safe, I stood on the cement. An older woman soon came up to Mal but I didn’t pay much attention until Audrey walked over as well.

“Grammy?” Mal repeated.

“Sleeping Beauty’s mother?” Audrey sneered. “Grammy, I don’t think you want to be talking to this girl. Not unless you want to take another hundred year nap.” Mal stared at the woman.

There was a short pause before “You?!” the older lady exclaimed angrily.

Mal jumped back and I started to walk over to them. I didn’t care if I burned the grass, if my hair was on fire, if I was on fire, or if I set anything else on fire. I just wanted to make sure Mal was going to safe. Everyone snapped their attention to us and Fairy Godmother (who I’ve definitely warmed up to), Ben, Carlos, Evie and Jay all started to walk over.

“How are you here? And  _ how _ have you stayed so young?” She demanded and I glared at Audrey as I stood next to Mal.

“Queen Lea, it’s ok, Maleficent is still on the island. This is her daughter Mal,” Ben explained in an attempt to reassure her. He put an arm around Mal and tried to subdue a grin. “Don’t you remember my proclamation to give the new generation a chance?”

“A chance to what Ben - destroy us?” She shot back and I almost growled. My hair flamed up and for once I could feel the heat of the fire. I looked over to Mal and was a bit shocked to find that her eyes were down and her hands were clutched in front of her. “Don’t you remember, don’t you? The poison apples, the spells! The spells… My daughter was raised by fairies because of your mother’s curse. So her first words, her first steps. I. Missed. It. All!” She turned away from us and crossed her arms.

“I’m so sorry!” Mal blurted out in an attempt to apologize but was cut off by Chad.

“Stay away from her!” He hissed at us.

“You don’t have to do this,” Ben warned everybody calmly.

“What? They were raised by their  _ parents  _ Ben. What do you think villains teach their kids - kindness, fair play? No way, ok, nuh uh.” Chad spat at us.

“And what did  _ your _ parents teach you? Because from what I’ve witnessed, it clearly wasn’t kindness.” I snapped at him and glared.

“You stole another girl’s boyfriend!” He accused Mal and Ben stepped in front of Mal.

“Hey! Hey!” Ben tried to stop him.

“You enjoy hurting people.” Chad told Jay. “You’re a hot headed  _ freak _ !” He yelled at me and I grinded my teeth angrily. “And you? You’re nothing but a gold digger and a cheat.” He said to Evie and glanced at Doug. I made a lunge for Chad but Mal and Carlos held me back.

“Mirror, mirror, in my hand. Who’s the biggest _ jerk _ in the land?” Evie called to the mirror and held it out for Chad to see. The mirror showed an image of Chad and he started to fume.

“Oh come on!” Chad exclaimed and knocked it out of Evie’s hand.

I managed to break free from Carlos and Mal and landed a very solid punch to his face right before Jay practically tackled him. People were trying to pull Chad away while Jay held him in place and Evie used the spray that was meant for the limo driver. I noticed a bright red imprint on the side of his face and realized that I had burned him when my hand connected with his stupid face.

Ben pulled Jay back and Mal pulled Evie back. And me? Well, Carlos tried to pull me back but I turned my palm to touch his arm too. I stared in horror at my hand and felt hot tears in eyes. Mal pulled Evie away and they started to leave followed to leave, followed by Jay and Carlos and then, hesitantly, me.


	9. It's Coronation Day

The four others were sitting at a table as I sat on the ground next to them. Unsurprisingly, my hair still hadn’t gone out, but instead of angry I just felt stuck in a pit of guilt.

Carlos’ palm and forearm where I burned him was all wrapped up and kept under the table.

“Hey guys, how is everyone?” Ben asked us and we all huffed. “Hey, listen, forget about it, let it go. Tomorrow after the coronation, I promise, everything will be ok.” He tried to reassure us before leaving the table. Then Doug came over.

“Hey, listen, Evie I wanted to talk about our-”

“Doug?” Chad called over. I clenched my teeth.

“Doug, I’m so sorry, it’s my fault-”

“Doug?” Chad called him again. Doug looked at Evie and shook his head. Then he left too. My fire was probably all the way up now.

“How long does she think that’s going to last?” Audrey spoke as she came up behind us.

“Yeah, it’s just a bad girl infatuation,” Jane replied smugly.  _ Jane turned into a bitch. _ “I mean, he’s never going to make a villain a queen,” Jane taunted as she leaned over to us and looked at Evie then Mal. Once they left Mal flipped open her spell book and roughly grinded her teeth.

“Beware, foreswear, undo Jane’s hair.” She then moved her hand in a pattern and we heard some laughs and a really loud, high pitched scream. We got up and faced the group. “There’s a lot more where that came from.” Mal threatened seriously.

“Excuse me? Who do you think you are?” Audrey accused with a laugh.

“Do I look like I’m kidding?” Mal challenged them with a glare and they all turned to leave. “I’m really looking forward to tomorrow.” Mal said to us. “Let’s grab that wand and blow this Popsicle stand.”

~The Next Day~

(At Coronation)

All four of us were inside the building, in the balcony, waiting for Ben to come in. When he did I smiled to myself.  _ He looks so nervous! Aw! I mean, I would be too if I were in his place, but still. _ We bowed when he entered the room and he paused. He was staring at something at the end of the isle and I followed his gaze. Mal. And she was staring back at him with a very faint smile. As he passed Mal, she bowed and smiled at him.

She was  _ happy _ . And that was something I’d rarely seen on her.

Fairy Godmother bowed to the queen and then to the king. She took the crown off of King Beast’s head gently and walked towards Ben. I glanced at Mal and noticed that she was staring worriedly at the wand.  _ You better be making up your mind. I did not wear my best dress and frickin  _ heels _ to this thing just for you to ruin the day. _ Fairy Godmother carefully placed the crown on Ben’s head and smiled brightly. Beast – King Adam, sorry – slid the case off of the wand stand and Belle handed the magic stick to Fairy Godmother. I held my breath.

“Do you solemnly swear to govern the peoples of Auradon with justice and mercy as long as you shall reign?”  _ Are you going to steal the wand or not? _

“I do solemnly swear.” Ben responded.

“Then it is my honor and my joy to bless our new king-” She was cut off by Jane taking the wand from her. Her own daughter stole the wand away from her. “Child what are you doing!” she screeched.

“If you won’t make me beautiful then I’ll do it myself!” she screamed. “Bippity boppity boo!” Mal  intervened and wrangled the wand away from her with some desperation showing. The four of us up in the balcony exchanged glances and took off running.

Who knew I could run this well in heels.

We burst through the doors and saw Ben standing in front of Mal in defense mode. “It’s ok.”

“Ben, I said  **stand back** !” Mal yelled at him.  _ Are you insane Mal? _

“I told you so!” Audrey sneered and Mal pointed the wand at them long enough for them to all cower and then she faced Ben again.

“Let’s go.” Carlos anxiously urged Mal as we skidded to a stop. Neither of us noticed where our hands were.

“It’s time,” Jay continued.

“Do you really want to do this?” Ben asked Mal. He seemed a bit heartbroken…  _ Mal you better do the right thing. _

“We have no choice, Ben. Our parents-”

“Your parents made their choice, now you make yours.” He snapped back. I started to grin but quickly stopped once I remembered the situation at hand. Mal took multiple deep breaths and looked around at everyone.

“…I think I wanna be good,” Mal finally whispered. I smiled again and this time I didn’t hide it.

“You are good!” Ben insisted.

“How do you know that?” Mal cried.

“Because - because I’m listening to my heart.” I felt tears prick at the edges of my eyes. It kind of felt like I really should be intruding.

“...I wanna listen to my heart too.” Mal spoke and then turned to us. “And my heart is telling me that we are  _ not _ our parents. I mean stealing things doesn’t make you happy - Tourney and victory pizza with the team makes you happy!” She told Jay. I looked over to Jay, and Carlos and Jay looked at each other with smiles. “And you, Anya and scratching Dude’s belly makes you happy, who would’ve thought.” Mal said to Carlos and let out a weak laugh. I blushed at the first part and Mal turned to me. “Anya - sweet, nice, caring Anya. You were never bad… and we all know  _ he  _ makes you happy,” she spoke. A tear rolled down her cheek and I let a couple tears slide down mine as well as I gave her a weak grin. “And Evie… you do not have to play dumb to get a guy, you are  _ so _ smart!” she complimented with a smile. “And I don’t wanna take over the world with evil - it doesn’t make me happy - I wanna go to school. And be with Ben, because Ben makes me  _ really _ happy!” She said the last part to Ben who was grinning like a fool in love. And I guess he was. “Us being friends makes me really happy - not destroying things. I choose good you guys.” She held out her fist and I quickly put mine in as well.

“I’ve always chosen good and I’m glad it’s your choice too,” I told her as a couple more tears rolled down my face.

“I choose good too,” Jay also put his fist in.

“I choose good!” Evie laughed and smiled. We then looked at Carlos - he was the last one.

“So, just to be clear, we don’t have to be worried about how  _ really _ mad our parents will be? Because they’re going to be really, really mad!” Carlos asked and we all laughed and smiled at him.

“Your parents can’t reach you here.” Ben informed us seriously.

“Ok then. Good.” Carlos decided with a small grin and, instead of feeling guilty, I felt the butterflies in my stomach and I had to look away from him. Mal looked at Ben and motioned him over. He smiled as he came over and placed his fist in the center as well. We all smiled and Mal rested her head on his shoulder. Then we heard a noise that sounded like very strong wind.  _ I wonder if my hair went out _ … A trail of green smoke rushed in and when it settled we saw Maleficent.  _ Shit _ .

“I’M BACK!!” she hollered and out of instinct I took a step closer to Carlos who gripped my hand tighter.  _ Wait, tighter? _

“Go away mother,” Mal told her in a weary voice. Maleficent laughed at her and it took a minute to regain her composure.

“Here. Wand me. Chop, chop.” She ordered Mal who lowered the wand and then threw it to Ben who passed it to Fairy Godmother.

“Bippity boppity-”

“Boo!” Maleficent interrupted her and cast her own spell that froze everyone but us. “Psych.” Then she walked up to Beast. “Mm… in another time, in another time.” I crinkled my nose in disgust and she started humming some song as she approached Fairy Godmother. “Oh! Oh no, someone needs to pluck their nose hairs. Where shall we begin? I know, why don’t we start by getting rid of this?” She pointed the wand at Mal and a ring flung off her finger. I recognized it as Ben’s and my flames flared up. “Perfect fit! Oh, pardon me, excuse me, pardon me. The horns, the horns! Falling in love is weak.” She moved Ben’s face to her and tilted his crown and then moved his face back towards us. I growled and she smirked at me. “…And ridiculous. That’s not what you want!” she told Mal.

“You don’t know what I want! Mom, have you ever, once, asked me what I want? I’m not you.” Mal pleaded.

“Well obviously. I’ve had years and years and years of practice being evil - you’ll get there!” Maleficent said in an attempt to cheer her up.

“No I will not! And I really wish that you had never gotten there yourself. Love is not weak or ridiculous, it’s actually really amazing!” Mal sniffed and let a tear fall.

“I know one thing, young lady - you have no room for love in your life!” Maleficent snapped at Mal.

“And now I command, wand to my hand!” Mal declared. A golden light swirled around the wand and it flew into Mal’s hand. “Huh, it worked!” I let out a soft chuckle and a slight grin.

“I hardly think so. This is tedious and immature. Give me the wand, give me the wand!” Maleficent screeched.

“Maybe good really is more powerful than evil,” Carlos muttered and Maleficent started to cackle again.

“Please. You’re killing me. Arf!” she barked. I pulled Carlos back to my side and clung to his arm. Dude ran up and jumped on her. “Oh, dog breath, dog breath, get off me!” She pushed Dude off of her and I gave her another glare. Jay then tried to take her scepter away from her and she did some eye trick with him. “Gaston should be jealous, hehe!” She touched his forehead with the tips of his fingers and he stumbled backwards. “Enough! You will all regret me!” A green mist covered her and the transformed into a dragon.

We all started running and she blew fire at Jay and he rolled out of the way. Jay then ran past a pillar but Maleficent followed him easily. He then tried to run to the podium for some reason and Maleficent had to fly upwards for more space.

“Jay! Jay!

“Come back, Jay, please!”

Jay started running as fast as he could towards us and Evie took out her mirror.

“Magic mirror, shine a bright light!” Evie commanded just as Maleficent was going to close her jaws around Jay. The light that blasted from the mirror shot right into Maleficent’s eyes and she had to land as she was temporarily blinded.

“Evie, behind me! Leave my friends alone!” Mal declared as her mother recovered from the light. “This is between you and me mother.” Mal breathed out and we all stared at her mother. “The strength of evil is good as none when stand before five hearts as one! The strength of evil is good as none when stand before five hearts as one! The strength of evil is good as none when stand before five hearts as one!” Mal chanted as she looked her directly in the eyes. About 30 seconds later Maleficent shook her dragon head and looked away. The green smoke once again swirled around her and left… nothing? I looked around where she was standing and saw a small black lizard. Fairy Godmother finally unfroze and we met up near where Maleficent was.

“What happened?” Evie asked.

“I don’t know!” Mal hissed.

“Did we do that?” I asked her.

“I don’t know!” She repeated while enunciating every syllable.

“No, no, no, no, no! She shrank down to the size of the love in her heart, that’s why she’s so… itty bitty.” She explained to Mal.

“Will she stay like that forever?” I asked her.

“Forever is a long time. You guys learned to love, so could she,” We smiled and Mal gave her the wand back.

“I believe that belongs to you,” Mal whispered with a smile.

“And I think this,” Fairy Godmother picks up the ring that Ben gave Mal, “belongs to you.” Mal gratefully took it and slid it back on her finger. “You all have earned yourself an A in Goodness class,” she smiled happily and we laughed. “Bippity boppity boo!” she waved her wand and everyone unfroze.

“ **AAAARRRGH** !” Ben charged toward us and Mal stopped him with a grin.

“Hey, ok, we kinda got this all wrapped up here,” Mal chuckled and Ben picked her up and swung her around.

“Next time let me rescue you,” Ben frowned.

“Yeah let’s not let there be a next time.” Mal smiled and tilted his crown with a laugh. Mal went over and quickly talked to a few people including Audrey. A guard person came over and placed the magic jar thing over Maleficent and Mal came rushing back over.

“Hey! Careful. That’s my mom,” she warned him with a grin. He bowed to her and she curtsied back to him. She came over next to me (who was next to Carlos) and placed an arm over my shoulder.

“Let’s get this party started!” Jay cheered.

“Oh way, oh way, hey!” We all sang.


	10. Deleted A Part And I Never Fixed It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eh. Oh well

Evie walked over to a table that had many, many treats on it and filled our plate with snacks. I found a table with Carlos and we waited a couple minutes, telling jokes mostly, for Jay, Evie, Ben and Mal to come over as well. Evie had sat on my left, then Jay, Carlos across from me, Ben, then Mal on my other side.

“So guys, you liking it so far? And you better say yes because I helped with planning it.” I joked to hide my insecure curiosity.

“Doug waited on my hand and foot despite telling him it wasn’t necessary and asked me to forgive him. I, of course, said yes and we have a date next week!” Evie cheered happily.

“I danced with Audrey,” Jay told us and I scrunched up my nose in disgust. “Don’t worry, I’m not into her like that,” he reassured me with a laugh and I nodded with a grin and a roll of my eyes.

“I danced with Jane.” Carlos informed us with a happy smile. My grin faltered and I wringed my hands together. “She’s actually pretty cool.” He added and I hid a flinch. My heart sank to the bottom of my stomach and I looked to Evie for some help.

“Hey Carlos! Here.” Evie handed him a chocolate chip cookie - the last one that was one our group’s plate. Carlos snatched it up and devoured the cookie. Evie and Mal exchanged mischievous grins, Ben and I silently asked each other what was up.

“What did you do?” I hissed to Mal.

“What did I do to Ben?” she ‘innocently’ responded with a question.

“What do you mean?” I questioned cluelessly.

“A certain spell and date, remember?” Evie supplied quietly with a grin.

“…You - Oh my Hermes!” I exclaimed.

“And Carlos is staring at…?” Evie quizzed me with a knowing and ecstatic smile. I looked at Carlos and noticed he was staring at me. I blushed and cleared my throat nervously.

“Um, Ben? I need to ask you a… quick question,” I breathed out and he nodded.

“Hey Anya?” Carlos asked me.

“One moment, Carlos. I’m a little preoccupied!” I snapped at him and he suddenly looked really sad. “Sorry.” I added with a sigh and dragged Ben away.

“Ok, what’s so important?” Ben chuckled in amusement.

“I’m guessing that when the love spell was placed on you it was in the form of a cookie?” Ben nodded as confirmation. “Well, they just spelled Carlos and now he’s in love with me. How did you get rid of it?” I panicked.

“Whoa, wait, you  _ want _ to take the spell off of him? Why? From what Mal’s told me, you love him back,” Ben pointed out in confusion.

“Back? Ugh, whatever. It doesn’t matter. Either way, I wanted him to either never form feelings or for them to come  _ naturally _ . I never wanted him to be spelled into liking me!” I panicked.

“Hey, calm down, it’ll be alright. Take my advice and relax. Give it a couple days until we can figure something out. And besides, he won’t do anything you don’t want to do so don’t sweat it,” Ben advised sincerely with a soft smile.

“Thank you. Ok, I guess… I’ll try to make the best out of it,” I settled. I squeezed his hand as a ‘thank you’ and went back to the table.

“Anya, you’re back!” Carlos chirped with a wide smile and walked over to me.

“Yup! Look, I’m sorry for snapping at you.” I apologized and he hugged me. I froze for a few seconds and then remembered Ben’s advice. I hugged him back but quickly pulled away regardless.

“I forgive you. Come on let’s dance!” He suggested and tugged me towards the dance floor.

“W-what? N-no, I-I’m fine! R-really. U-um, th-these heels - they’re not made for dancing!” I stuttered out, trying to dissuade him.

“Come on, it’s just one dance. Besides, you can take off your heels.” He pointed out and I sighed.

“…Ok.” I agreed. 

We danced together happily, albeit a bit awkwardly, until the end of the song. Carlos leaned down for, I’m assuming, a kiss. I turned my face to the side and he stopped and smiled. He then pulled me off the dance floor and led me to the table we had been sitting at. Now only Evie was there and she gave me a wink before leaving us.

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re beautiful?” Carlos asked me in a daze.

“W-what? N-no. I mean not b-besides my mom,” I stuttered out nervously.

“Well, you are and I promise to tell you every single day starting now.” Carlos declared dramatically as I blushed. “Hey, Anya, guess what?”

“What?” I played along.

“You’re beautiful.” I blushed even more and looked down at the plate of sweets that Evie left on the table.

~Time Skip~

I entered my dorm with Evie and Mal and they turned to me as I flopped onto my bed. They stared at me expectantly and I tried to ignore them. A few minutes of silence passed before Mal broke it.

“Oh, for crying out loud! Anya, spill the details!” Mal begged.

“Nothing happened,” I rolled my eyes at her girly-ness.

“Yeah right. You and Carlos danced together three time and you were completely joined at the hip. You guys were totally flirting and you were blushing the entire night. You cannot say that was nothing,” Evie protested.

“We were not flirting!” I objected in embarrassed annoyance.

“Yeah you were.” Mal agreed with Evie and I sighed.

“Now spill,” Evie demanded.

“That’s just it - we danced, we talked, we hung out. It didn’t go further. And I’m not sure I want it too.” I responded tiredly.

“No second date?” Evie asked, seemingly offended on my behalf.

“No. Just a general ‘See you tomorrow’ and we separated.” I told them with a shrug.

“I bet he kissed your cheek and said something really romantic!” Evie swooned.

I blushed but shook my head. “Whatever… I’m going to go to bed now, it’s late and I need sleep.” I grabbed my pajamas and changed into them quickly. Then I crawled into bed and turned my bedside lamp off. “Good night,” I whispered and the two girls repeated the line and shut off their own lights.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this one flowed well. I mean the title was me panicking a little bit so... oops.


	11. The Oogy Boogy Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nightmares insue

I was sitting next to Carlos on a blanket, watching the sun go down. We were so happy together and were both smiling like mad men. A small girl with bright red hair and white tips came running up to us followed by a slightly younger looking boy with Carlos’ hair. They both tackled me in a hug that nearly tipped me over. Carlos laughed and took the boy and set him on his lap. We all watched as the sun slipped under the horizon. As the very last ray of sun dipped out of sight everything turned black.

Carlos and the two kids were still there but everything else was pitch black.

“Anya!” Carlos was shouting my name as he was getting dragged away by something unseen.

“Mommy!” Both of the kids screeched as they were also being dragged away. I ran towards them, hoping to catch up, but it seemed as though with each step I took they only got twice as far as they were before. Soon I could no longer see any of them; I could only hear their screams of agony. I collapsed onto the ground and cried and cried.

“Oh, darling, I’m so sorry…” A sweet female voice spoke. I looked up and saw the most beautiful woman.

“W-who are you?” I sniffed out and she let out an angelic laugh.

“I’m Persephone,” she introduced herself.

“Per… Weren’t you married to… to Hades?” I double checked happily.

“Yes. I know you weren’t aware of you lineage until very recently. But I want you to know that we love you.”

“Are you my mother?” I asked. Persephone’s eyes widened and she tucked back some hair that had fallen in my face.

“Yes. Did you not know?”

“I only found out my father but I had a suspicion. I’m glad it’s you.”

Persephone smiled and went to speak again when she disappeared in a poof of flowers. In her place stood a tall man with blue flaming hair, wearing dark robes and a small bracelet that had a single gold coin.

“Hades.” I breathed out as I took a step back. He was different this time though.

“Please, call me dad. That is who I am after all. Right?” He corrected with a slight smirk that turned into something slightly more genuine and almost more frightening.

“You left me, so why do you deserve that title?” I tried to snark at him - it came out shaky - and he chuckled.

“I got a feisty one! And no, I didn’t leave you. Cerberus alerted me to the fact that something was wrong one night. By the time I realised you weren’t in our home it was too late. Your mother and I couldn’t find you. We tried for years with no luck. We asked the other gods and goddesses to help but they came up short as well, though I don’t doubt that some didn’t try. We’ve missed you.” Hades revealed with a small, soft smile.

I froze. But as we stared at each other, I felt myself start to shake and I shook my head. “Good. I don’t believe the Underworld would have been a suitable place to raise a child - do you?” I challenged him, trying to keep my emotions out of my eyes.

“Why not? You’d get food, a family, love.” He replied with a clear thread of truthfulness.

“Another question - what happened to Carlos and those kids?” I tested.

“Ah yes, your  _ one true love _ and your two practically  _ perfect _ children.” He said and rolled his eyes. “I can let you see them. You may not like it though… it’s their future –  _ everyone’s  _ future.”

“Let me see them.” I demanded and failed to keep the desperation out of my voice.

Hades sighed. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” An image of Carlos and the kids appeared. But it wasn’t what I expected to see. They were next in line to go into the actual Underworld. _ Was Hades planning on killing them?! _ “No… No! Stop it, stop this! Please, let them go!” I pleaded with tears streaming down my face. Then they were at the edge of a bottomless pit of souls. They were pushed in by an invisible force and tumbled down. All three of them turned into hollow echoes of themselves and I had to look away.

“Yes, a terrible fate, I know-”

“Shut up!” I yelled as I saw something far worse. Jay, Mal and Evie were all in the pit too. And my mother too - Anastasia. I cried for my friends and family whose lives were cut too short. I heard a faint bark and I looked towards the source of the sound. Dude.

“Dude! You’re ok!” I smiled. But just before Dude could reach me he fell mid-jump. Slowly blood trickled from some place on his body.

Hades’ voice filled the air.

“I-”

I awoke with a start and started to silently cry. After ten-ish minutes I wiped my eyes and threw my covers off. I tiptoed to Evie’s bed and curled up next to her. Tears started to fall again and I tried not to make any noise. Faintly, I felt her shift and her arm wrapped around me. I stayed like that the whole night, not daring to move. Every time I thought of the dream I started to cry again. So instead I tried to sleep, but every time I was about to not off, the threat of having a similar and worse kept me awake.

_ I want Mom. Or Carlos. _

When it was time to wake up I got up and headed straight for the bathroom. I turned the cold water on in the sink and gathered as much as I could in my cupped hands. I splashed the cold water my face and repeated this action three more times before I dried off the water. I looked in the mirror and sighed. I stared at my reflection and opened the drawer that had my make-up in it. I glanced down at the clutter of tiny items and shut it again before leaving the bathroom. I didn’t notice my hands shaking.

Evie was already up and picking out her clothes for the day.

“E?” I spoke in a quiet voice.

She turned to me and a soft expression settled. “Sit down, I’ll do your makeup.” Evie said with a gesture to the chair next to her. A few minutes later Mal got up and Evie had already put on what I would guess to be about half of my makeup. We have very different standards. When Evie was finished with my makeup she filtered through my clothes and picked an outfit out for me. She picked out [ this](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/419257046532959184/) and red flats. I put the outfit on and thanked Evie for covering up the damage from last night to which she just shrugged it off and gave me a soft smile. Truth be told, I hadn’t gone to Carlos at all this school year. Evie had really stepped up for me.

I sighed. “Evie?”

“What is it sweetie?”

“I need to talk to someone… Don’t I?”


	12. Chapter 12

It was Monday so we still had class, though remedial goodness 101 was taken out of our schedules. I didn’t really pay attention to much that was said - a night of almost no sleep can really take its toll on you. I kept yawning and nodding off. I caught myself a few times and would change my position in the chair. When all our classes were over I stayed with the group for a while, really hoping to go to bed if I was being really honest. Carlos was still under that stupid spell too so he was even more worried than normal. After nearly an hour, he got fed off with me shrugging off his concern.

“This isn’t nothing Anya! And I hate that you’re treating it like it’s yesterday’s news! I just want to help, and you always used to asked for my help so I don’t see why  _ now _ is any different.” Carlos said sharply.

“I had a nightmare again last night where I watched you die. Is that what you wanted to hear? All of you were dead. My mom was dead!” There was a heavy pause as everyone at our table turned to stare at me. “I told you that I didn’t want to talk about it. Leave it alone.” I ground out, wiping a few spare tears from my face.

“You should’ve come over Anya. I would’ve helped you… I  _ want  _ to help you Anya. I can tell it’s not the first night this has happened and it isn’t healthy. Please let me help you.” Carlos said quietly, sounding a bit hurt.

As I stood up, Mal called out to me. “Wait! What if…  _ I _ made you a potion to help with it? Or Evie? We all want to help you.” I froze mid-step.

“... If you want.”

~Time Skip~

“Have you taken your potion?” Carlos double checked.

“No.” I sighed and begrudgingly grabbed it off his bedside table. I took a deep breath and downed the drink in one gulp. “Oh. Wow, that’s fast acting.” I yawned and curled up on his bed.

“Night Anya,” Carlos whispered. He laid down next and pulled me to his chest. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” I barely mumbled out and let myself fall into a deep sleep.

I woke up the next day in an empty bed and light streaming through the window.  _ What time was it? _ I sat up and stretched.  _ No dreams… _ I slowly got out of Carlos’ bed and just stood in the middle of the room blankly for a while.

“Where are you Carlos?” I muttered. “And what happened last night? I mean, I obviously took the potion - that was the best sleep I’ve had since…” Since… when?

A knock came from the door and I jumped up to open it. Evie was standing there with a change of clothes and her back up make up bag. “I thought you might want something to change into.”

“Thank you so much E!"

~This is a a spot I forgot to fill in and it's kind of huge and important sooooooo yeah. Take what I have to give~

“Hey Anya? You’re beautiful.” Carlos grinned with a bright twinkle in his eye. “And about last night…” His voice became quieter and he moved closer. My breath hitched and he smiled at me. “I told you I loved you.” My eyes widened.  _ I don’t remember that! _ “And you said it back.”

“I did?” I breathed out. We were so close to each other. Jay had gone into the bathroom to change into his jersey so we were alone. “I-I don’t remember that.” Carlos’ face fell and I bit my lip.

“I love you.” He whispered to me.

“I-” I was caught off guard and Carlos kissed me. It was soft and tender but I could feel the love in it. The fake love.

“Ew, guys, stop.” We broke apart and Jay was staring at us with a fake-mortified expression. “I did  _ not _ need to see two of my friends making out.” He grimaced.

“W-we weren’t-”

“Oh no, you don’t have to explain.” He teased us with a wink.

“Get out of here! Tell coach that I’m taking care of Anya ‘cause she’s sick.” Carlos said with a roll of his eyes.

“Hey I’m not-”

“Shh.” Carlos grinned at me and I felt myself blushing. Jay left the room and Carlos turned back to me. “So?”

“‘So’ what?” I quizzed.

“Do you love me?”

“What?”

“Do you love me?”

“Do I love you?”

“Well, do you?”

“I…” I looked away and swallowed the lump in my throat. “Carlos I… I won’t say I’m in love.”

“Oh… I see.” He walked away from me and sat in the corner of his bed.

“Carlos… It’s not that I don’t love you, it’s that you don’t really love me.” I tried to explain.

“Yes I do Anya! How can you say I don’t?” He exclaimed. I flinched at his volume and he turned away from me.

“You ate a cookie with a love potion in it.” I admitted quickly.

“No… that was Ben.” Carlos deflected my response.

“No,” I sighed. “At Ben’s coronation party Evie gave you a cookie. The cookie had a love potion mixed in with it.” I tried to explain once more.

“S you knew this whole time…? Either way, it backfired. I’m not in love with Evie.” He shrugged, taking the news fairly well.

“It wasn’t so you’d fall in love with Evie.” I admitted and sat next to him.

“Then who?” He tested me cautiously.

“Me.”

“Why you? Not that I have a problem with it.” He kissed my cheek and I heavily blushed.

“I-I… T-They all knew t-that I-I…”  _ How do I say this to him?! _ “I love you – the real you. I’ve loved you since that first night you helped me with my nightmares. And they know! Carlos, I am sorry, but I can’t say I love you - again - because I don’t love  _ this _ you! I love another you that isn’t home at the moment. This is the love potion you, not  _ my _ Carlos!” I felt a couple tears escape as I explained to him the complicated situation.

“Oh. I… I have to go.” Carlos walked out of the room and I burst into tears.


	13. Chapter 13

“Ben? Can you do something for me?” I bit my lip in a poor attempt to hide a grin.

“Yeah, sure. What is it?” He questioned as he put a book down.

“I want to know more about my parents.” I admitted with an anxious smile.

“Hades and Persephone?” I nodded. “You know, when the villains were placed on The Isle, your parents were a very peculiar case.” He revealed.

“They were?” I eagerly jumped on the new information.

“Well, yeah… people wanted Hades on The Isle but no one wanted to separate your parents. I mean, Persephone wasn’t even around during the events with Hercules.” Ben explained. “No one knew what to do about them.”

“Huh, interesting.” I hummed. “Tell me more.”

~Time Skip~

“Anya!” Mal called me over.

“...Yes…?” I paused for a moment before I decided that I had avoided them for long enough. I walked over to her, Evie, Ben, Jay, and…  _ Carlos _ .

“Finally, I was thinking we’d never talk again!” Jay exclaimed and I avoided their gazes.

“Anya, sit down.” Ben coaxed me gently.

“No thanks, I’ll stand.” I rebuffed icily.

“We need to speak with you.” He told me.

“… Only… Only because you were direct.” I grumbled and sat down next to Ben – it was the furthest space from Carlos.

“Ok, so you told Carlos basically everything,” Mal said bluntly.

“…”

“I’m sorry,” Carlos breathed out shyly.

“What?” I asked in shock.  _ What was he sorry for?! _

“I pushed you, I-I’m sorry for that.” He repeated, embarrassed.

“W-what? No! It was my fault; I should have told you earlier!” I hurried out and instinctively reached my hand towards his. “Is it… is it out of your system?”

“Yeah, I had Ben and Mal help me.” Carlos admitted with a tiny grin.

“Ah.” I quickly pulled my hand back.

“I remember what you said.” He admitted. I flushed bright red and sped away. Ten minutes later I stopped running and looked around at where I was.  _ This is where Dude and Carlos bonded for the first time… Damn symbolism and my damn emotions. _

“Stop crying!” I berated myself. “Is this what you wanted Mom? And my other mom. And dad.” I grumbled. I sat down on the fallen tree branch and buried my head in my hands. “What am I doing?”

“Running away.” My head shot up and I saw a cute red headed girl.

“Who are you?” I quizzed.

“Hera.” She lightly smiled at me.

“Isn’t that… Hercules’ mother?” I questioned. She scrunched up her nose and nodded. “…Oh. You’re his daughter aren’t you?” Another nod.

“You sure you wanna be talking to me then?” I bitterly laughed.

“What do you mean?” She asked.

“My hair doesn’t give it away?” I tested her in mild shock.

“Hades, yeah it does. But we’re cousins. Besides dad’s always telling me to do what I want and mom tells me not to judge.” She shrugged.

“Huh… Alright. Well, my name’s Anya.” I gave her a tired smile.

“Anya? Greek origin so I can see it.” She nodded in approval.

“Um yeah.”  _ Except my adoptive mother had to name me and she was just as unimaginative as everyone else… _

“So what’s wrong? Are you being bullied?” She asked.

“No! No, nothing like that. I actually, uh… I like someone. Mal and Evie gave him a love potion and he fell in love with me. I know some people would love that but… It wasn’t him. He didn’t like me like that and… it kind of felt as if he was f-faking. It hurt me to know that he was only acting like that because he was under a potion. One of the last times we spoke, he said that he l-loved me. I-I explained what happened and that because of the potion I wouldn’t say it back. We… I finally talked to all of them today… and, well, this happened.” I grimaced as I recalled everything that had happened so far.

“Is he still… under the potion?” She asked me with furrowed eyebrows.

“No.”

“Then what’s the problem? Talk to him again, smooth things out between you. Don’t leave him hanging. I can come with you if you wanted?” She offered up.

“I can’t it’s more complicated than tha-”

“Is it?” Hera tested.

“Yes.” I answered. “We kissed.” I pressed on. “Oh god we kissed.”

“Oh my… You’ve been friends for a long time – yes?” She wondered and bit her lip.

“Yes. Years. I don’t want to lose him.” I told her honestly. She beamed widely at me, took my hand and started to pull me away.

“You won’t. Trust me.” I struggled to not fall on my face at first but regained my balance and followed after her. Within minutes we were standing at the end of their table. My face was red and I was panting while Hera just stood with a stern look. “Talk. Now.”

“Who...” Mal trailed off and looked between Ben and Hera.

“Hera, Hercules’ daughter. What are you doing here?” Ben replied.

“Carlos, Anya, talk. You are really tangled up and this is the only way to get you out. We can give you guys space but you need to talk. Now.” Hera ordered. Ben raised an eyebrow at her antics.

“Anya?” Carlos started.

“Carlos.” Anya nodded and cleared her throat. Hera nodded to the others for them to get up and the five of them left. “She, uh, wants us to talk about - ah, what happened.”

“Yeah…” We stood in silence for a few more seconds before he spoke again. “I’m sorry.”

“… You know… I never lied. It was true.” Carlos whispered with a heavy blush. The words hit me like a ton of bricks and I stood there, frozen, gaping at him. “Anya?”

“What?” I demanded in almost a whisper-shriek.

“I-I said-”

“I know what you said. That’s huge. That’s a lot to mean. You told me you loved me!  _ We kissed _ !” I said in my rising panic.

“Y-yeah. A-and you said it back.” He mumbled in embarrassment.

“So you really…?” I started to say.

“Yeah… what… what about you?” He asked nervously. I bit my lip and examined him carefully.

“Of course I do you dork! I-” I broke off and I could feel tears threatening to spill. I felt his arms wrap around me and I started to cry. “I’m sorry, it’s just stress and lack of sleep.”

“Hey, it’s fine. So we’re good?” He reassured.

“Definitely. Even more than good?” I pushed.

“Definitely.” And he kissed my cheek. “Now, you need more sleep.” Carlos grabbed my hand and dragged me to the dorms.


	14. Happily Ever After?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> dreeeeeeaaaaaaaamm

I was sitting at the top of a hill, reading a book as the sun started to dip down. A familiar pink dress fluttered around my peripheral field and I snapped my head up. Persephone sat down next to me and I grinned.

“It’s great to see you again,” I hummed.

“I agree. I know we’ve only met once, but how would you like to meet your father and me?” I froze in my place and she placed a hand on my shoulder.

“Y-you mean…  _ meet  _ my father?” I managed out.

“He really isn’t that bad. Hades was lonely and full of hate before he met me, so please; don’t judge him for those actions.” Mother pleaded.

“That’s not… It’s just… ever since I can remember I have had  _ horrible  _ dreams about him. I just don’t want them to be true.” I admitted to her.

“The last time we met,” She mused. “I was pushed out of your dream… I promise you, Hades is a kind man and would never hurt you.”

“Why couldn’t you find me?” I bit my lip to stop myself from crying and looked away.

“Oh honey. I told your father that earlier that day I had found a few things that were off. He brushed away my concerns, so I did too. And then you went missing. I have no doubt that another God or Goddess stole you, but how is a complete mystery. Though I think I know why.” Persephone admitted. She tucked a beautiful yellow flower behind my ear and I grinned. “You see, when I was first taken by Hades, I did not love him and I fought very hard to get back to my mother. It wasn’t a secret that I wanted to leave. My mother shared my feelings. I believe that you were stolen away from us because someone still thought that Hades was dangerous or cruel.”

“Do you love him now?” I asked her.

“Yes. He gives me all I could want and respects my wishes. He’s is such a sweetheart but he hates it when I tell people that. He… He does know about you.” She replied with a radiant smile.

“I know.” I told her easily. Mother gave me an odd look and I explained further. “I think he visited me – or tried to at least - right after you did? He told me pretty much the same thing but shorter but… my mind must’ve distorted him or something. Oh, and I would love to meet you both.” I responded.

“Anya, you’ve slept in too much already.” I heard Carlos say.

“No.”  _ Mom… _ I buried my head into the pillow and resisted a grin when I heard Carlos laugh. “You know what I just realized?” I said as I flipped back around and propped myself up on my elbows.

“What?” Jay asked from across the room.

“I have control of my fire.” I grinned as I touched my red hair. The three of us grinned at each other. I finally got up and got dressed in [ this](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/8c/1f/e8/8c1fe89ac24bb7a9ad745f20191e3d0f.jpg) outfit.

“Did you sleep alright?” Carlos asked me and then placed a kiss on my cheek.

“Yeah, actually… I think… I think I agreed to meet my parents…” I told him as we left his room.

“Wait what? How?” He questioned.

“My mom visited me in my dream… Don’t know how, but I don’t care.” I shrugged. “I’m gonna meet my parents!” I squealed.

“But isn’t Hades locked up?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end. This is it. This is all I have. If any of y'all are actually interested in adopting this story, or even if you think I should personally continue it, please please please let me know! Love you guys. I'm surprised you made it to the end


	15. Hey Guys!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a little update.

Hello guys! So I know that there are actually people who actually enjoy this story and I feel slightly guilty for not having finished this. Not because they're trying to make me feel guilty, but because I really love Anya and I wish I could do this story justice. That being said, before D3 came out I had no plans whatsoever to ever LOOK in the general direction of this story. For a lot of reasons. And I'm going to explain myself because I feel like y'all deserve at least that much.  
So first off, my character was imagined when the first movie came out - so way before we could have any possibility of knowing that Disney was going to make Hades Mal's father - and know that D3 is out my character needs to be tweaked to fit the canon story a bit better. Also, I was having a really hard time writing Anya the last two years or so and I finally figured out why - I have given her zero (0) character development and that really needs to change. However, I wasn't giving her any character development because I didn't know where I wanted her to end up.  
The last reason why I was 100% ready to let Anya go is because I made her up when I was in a really dark time in my life (and I'm sure it shows). My anxiety and depression were really high and I was still struggling with an eating disorder. Because of that, Anya is drowning in those bad thoughts (even if she eats fine and doesn't have depression) and is inextricably tied to that time and those feelings. As y'all can imagine, I don't exactly want to have to focus on those things again. Another thing that was happening at that time in my life was actually the fact that something WASN'T happening. I hadn't started questioning my gender or sexuality or my relationship with those things and I wouldn't for another years or so. And again, Anya just so happens to be stuffed with my insecurities and repression.  
But now Descendants 3 is out and I've watched it at least six times in the first three or four days. And with new content comes inspiration and creativity! But, as much as I wish I could tell you guys that I'm pumping out new chapters or that I'm halfway done with rewriting it - because that's what would usually happen - I can't. It's not because I'm lacking motivation either. It's because I'm in the process of moving and that's taking up most of my time. I will admit, I have started rewriting the story and tweaking Anya so she fits what I want and need better, but I can't guarantee you that I'll stay inspired or motivated even after I finish moving. And I can't guarantee you all that I'll have enough new coherent content to publish either.  
So yeah. That's it. I explained myself.  
I love you all!! Thank you so much for reading this creation and I hope that you'll bare with me until I can give you something more concrete. Love you guys!


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